Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Mercedes Spanish Grand Prix Preview

(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)

The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team head into this weekend’s
Spanish Grand Prix at the Barcelona Circuit De Catalunya hoping for a repeat of
last years’ result where the Brackley based outfit secured a 1-2 finish with
Lewis Hamilton taking victory.

The Silver Arrows took a narrow victory last time out in
Bahrain as Lewis Hamilton took the win by just 3.384s to Scuderia Ferrari’s
Kimi Raikkonen who secured his first podium since the 2013 Korean Grand Prix
and with the Maranello based outfit having a major upgrade on the SF15-T this
weekend which includes an updated power unit Mercedes will have their work cut
out for them this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton goes into Sunday’s race with the momentum clearly
in his favour having won three of the opening four Grand Prix of the season and
a 27 points advantage of Nico Rosberg. Speaking ahead of the race, Hamilton
stated:

‘Bahrain was a tough
race so to come away with the win was a great feeling and it’s amazing the
start we’ve had this year. Next up it’s Barcelona, which is a great place to
start the European phase of the season. The weather is always good and the
circuit is a real test of every aspect of the car, which is why we go testing
there. It’s a great city, too. The architecture is stunning and it’s a young,
vibrant place so I always enjoy the weekend. Racing there is tough – it’s
usually hot and the circuit is incredibly physical. But the support I have in
Spain is growing every time we go and, having tasted success there for the
first time last year, I want to do it in even better style this time.’

Nico Rosberg had an extremely strong race in Bahrain and had
he not had an issue with his brake by wire he may very well have finished the
race in second place behind Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg will be hoping that the
result in Spain this weekend will be a reverse of last season and will see him
take his first win of the season. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s race, the German
stated:

‘The race in Bahrain
was definitely the most enjoyable of the season for me so far. It was a really
good fight out there and it gave me the chance to show what I can do in a close
battle. Although we had a problem at the end, the car felt fantastic and I
could really push hard to get my positions back. I’m feeling really fired up
for the next races knowing I have all the tools available to me for a strong
performance. It’s felt like a long break and I can’t wait to get back out there
in Barcelona. It’s the first race in Europe at a track which every driver knows
well, so it should make for an exciting weekend. The circuit itself really
tests every element of the car – especially the aero – so it will be
interesting to see how each team has developed since we last came here in the
winter and also to see who has brought the most upgrades since the last race. I
know our guys have been working mega hard at the factory, so let’s see what
we’ve got!’

The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team head into Sunday’s race
leading the Constructors championship by 52 points. Speaking ahead of the race,
Mercedes Director of Motorsport Toto Wolff stated:

‘After the first part
of the season, the last weeks gave us the chance to judge our performance so
far – and look at what we need to do to build our advantage in the next weeks
and months. We scored more points in the first four races of 2015 than in 2014
and enjoyed better reliability; the team is in a very strong position. The
difference is the competitive situation: in 2014, we had a lead of over 100
points in the Constructors’ Championship; this year, it’s 52 points and we are
in a close battle at every race weekend. But that’s what Formula 1 is all
about: accepting the challenge of performing at your best for every lap of
every race weekend, and always pushing yourself to be even better. Every single
team member in Brackley and Brixworth knows that we can’t afford to take our
foot off the gas so we are pushing hard with developments to the car and the
power unit for the coming races. Barcelona is traditionally the first race for
big upgrades, so we will be interested to see how we perform relative to the
competition. One area where we can be totally confident is our driver line-up:
Lewis is in the zone right now, probably driving as well as he has ever done,
and Nico showed his teeth in Bahrain with some forceful overtaking and a
strong, aggressive race. We’re expecting more of the same in Spain.’

‘It feels like a long
but well-needed break since Bahrain, having barely had more than a week’s gap
between events since the pre-season programme began. This has given us time to
reflect, regroup and pick up on what we’ve learned in the first part of the
year. We now head to the first European race, which is traditionally seen as
the first major upgrade point of the season. But in practice, recent years have
seen car upgrades become more of a constant and relentless campaign throughout
the year. We may see a little more than usual after the three-week gap,
however, so it will be interesting to see what each team brings to the table.
Barcelona is one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar, testing both
chassis and power unit, and it’s often said that if you’re quick here, you’ll
be quick anywhere. We looked strong during winter testing – but time has
passed, teams will have developed their cars significantly in the subsequent
weeks and we’ll now see much warmer temperatures, so we don’t know how we’ll
look until we get there. That’s part of the excitement of Formula One! We’ll
have a lot of work to do on Friday to get the most out of the car and see where
we stand for the weekend. ?’